Dreamscape
by Ari Moriarty
Summary: Fourth in the "Dreamgirl" series. Ten years after their first adventure, Yu and the rest of the team travel to the mountains for a second celebratory ski trip. This time, however, the trip falls on Valentine's Day. Quite a bit of fluff.
1. Skier Level Nine

**Author's Note: **Okay, so, I really did intend to start working on the sequel to **Dreamgirl, **but I got distracted while skiing up in the mountains with my brother, and I ended up writing this instead.

I guess I'll do just ONE MORE little drabble collection before I post the first chapter of the sequel. I'm sorry. Please forgive me.

All of these stories take place in the timeline of **Dreamgirl, **obviously. They occur after the events of **Perchance to Dream.**

**Ski Level: Nine **

"Chie," asked Yu, as they trudged out together on to the ski slopes, "why didn't you bring the snowboard out today? I know you have more fun on that than you do on skis."

Chie shrugged. "Well, uh, yeah, sure, a snowboard's more my style, but…" She flushed slightly, and glanced down at the snow. "Well, its Valentine's Day, and I wanted to…to spend it with you. We can stick together better if we're both on skis, don't you think?"

She gave him a sheepish, hopeful sort of look, and Yu felt his heart doing that awkward, schoolboy melty thing that it always did when she looked at him that way. He wasn't sure if Officer Chie Narukami of the Inaba Police Department would be more flattered or more offended if he told her how cute she was, but he erred on the side of caution and kissed her quietly on the top of the head instead.

"Thanks," he said.

If anything, Chie turned redder. "Uh, d-don't mention it. Sure. I'm…I'm having fun already! Haha…"

She took off down the slope, and Yu followed her for a ways until they came to the place just under the lift where they'd agreed to meet the rest of their friends. It was very early still, and no one else was there yet, although Yu thought he saw someone in a heavy coat off in the distance, trudging down the steps of the ski lodge.

"This was a pretty great idea of Yosuke's," remarked Chie excitedly, bouncing experimentally on the balls of her feet and listening to the sound of the snow crunching underneath her skis. "Man, I don't think I've been skiing since that one time when we all went together! Just wasn't the same without you and the others. Didn't seem like it would end up being any fun. Oh, but, don't worry, I can still do it. I mean, it's kinda like riding a bicycle, I guess? It just sort of...comes back to me naturally. Yeah, I'll be fine."

"You were more than fine the last time we came," Yu reminded her. "You and Yosuke were snowboarding circles around the rest of us on the first day."

"Hey, you weren't so bad yourself," retorted Chie. "Weren't you the one teaching everyone else how to ski? You're way more patient than I am. I mean, you know I like Rise, and all, but I don't think I could have followed her down and picked her up over, and over, and over…huh, maybe it's because of all of my training? My reflexes are pretty good, and you really need that kind of thing for skiing."

Yu nodded. "Maybe so," he agreed.

"But," Chie went on, "I definitely wish I'd gone back. Uh, I mean, before today. If I could have practiced a little, then I could have gotten a lot better by now, and then I'd be able to impress you! Even back then, I, uh…I really wanted to impress you."

She fell silent for a moment, and Yu reached out to squeeze her hand through her ski glove. Chie clearly hadn't been expecting that, and she dropped her pole in surprise. Yu caught it for her as it fell and handed it back.

"You don't have to impress me anymore," he told her. "I don't need you to do anything special for me. I'm happy with you just the way you are right now."

Chie shook her head. "But I want to impress you," she insisted quietly, clearly embarrassed but determined to get the words out. "I think…I think that's part of what love is. It's never enough, you know? I just want…I always want to be better for you. I want to keep getting better, and to keep making you happier, and happier, and happier, until, uh…actually, I don't know until what. But I want that. Is that…weird?"

_No, _thought Yu, remembering the hour he'd spent in the lodge that morning, frowning at himself in the mirror while Yosuke insisted with uncharacteristic patience that Yu's old ski coat did still fit and did not, in fact, make him look fat at all. He remembered the long Sunday afternoons he'd spent ten years ago, hanging around at Souzai Daigaku trying to get them to give him the recipe for their famous steak sauce so that he could surprise his new girlfriend Chie with a perfectly delicious homemade steak dinner. _No, it's not strange at all. _

"Huh? What's up?" Yu realized that Chie was frowning at him. "You're zoning out…"

"It's nothing." Yu shook his head. "I was just thinking."

There was, as far as Yu could see, no one else around. This was clearly his moment. The mood was perfect. Dropping both of his poles on to the ground beside him, he leaned in, did his best to find Chie's waist through her heavy ski-coat, and pulled her close to him.

"Yu!" she squeaked in surprise, and then fell silent as he kissed her. He could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks as she, too, abandoned her poles in favor of getting a better grip on the situation.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Mrs. Narukami," murmured Yu. The words felt strange on his now-warm lips, and he realized that he didn't remember ever having called her that before. He liked the way it sounded. It made him feel good and proud to think that this super cute, enthusiastic ski pro was his wife.

"Happy Valentine's Day," whispered Chie, clearly surprised at this unexpected and uncharacteristic romantic interlude. "U-um...I have something for you, but I left it back at the lodge. I…I made it, but I think it's good this time. I…it might be edible. I think it is. I'll eat some too, so…you won't have to suffer alone?" She grinned. "Wouldn't ask you to do anything I wouldn't do myself, haha…"

_I would eat it no matter how terrible it might be,_ thought Yu. _No, actually…I WILL eat it, and it WILL be terrible, and we'll both know it…but I'll eat it anyway. _

Yu smiled at Chie, and Chie smiled at Yu, and they were just beginning to bask in the slightly awkward glow of their newlywed vacation sun when someone called out to them from the direction of the lodge.

"Chie! Yu-kun!" Yukiko was waving at them as she plodded across the snow in her skis. "Sorry I'm late. Hmm? Where is everyone? Oh!" Apparently realizing that she'd just interrupted something, Yukiko stopped and frowned. "Is…this a bad time?"

"No! No, of course not." Chie gave Yu an apologetic little look. "Looks like the others all slept in, though. Oh well…"

"Do you want to take a run just the three of us, then?" asked Yukiko. "If we're fast, maybe we can be back before the others arrive! Oh, but…I would feel badly if we made them wait for us. Maybe it's better if we stay put for now."

Yukiko was eyeing the slopes hopefully over her shoulder, and Yu knew that Chie had been eager to get started ever since she'd gotten up that morning.

"You two go ahead," he suggested. "Take a few runs together while you can. I'll wait here for Yosuke and the others."

"Are you sure?" Chie was chewing on her lip. "I mean, uh, it is Valentine's Day and all..."

Yu gave her a reassuring smile "We'll ski together later. I promise."

Again, they shared a little moment. Yu thought he saw Yukiko roll her eyes, although for some reason she was now smiling widely at the back of Chie's head, her eyes dancing.

"Come on, Chie," insisted Yukiko, grabbing Chie by the arm. "Yu's right. It'll be fun to go up just the two of us. Besides, we've got a lot to talk about." She shot a significant glance at Yu.

"Huh? We do? What…ouch! Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Chie waved one last time at Yu, and then let Yukiko drag her off into the lift line.

Yu watched them go, feeling ridiculously good about himself. _It's a beautiful day today, _he decided, glancing up at the sun peeking through a set of impressive clouds that were suddenly threatening snow.

"Heey! Big Bro!" Nanako appeared over the horizon, teetering uncertainly on her skis. "Um…oh, are you by yourself? Where's Chie-san? Eek!"

Nanako swayed, faltered, then gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and trudged the rest of the way over to her cousin.

"How's it going?" asked Yu, looking down at Nanako's skis. "Getting the hang of it?"

"Um…maybe?" Nanako sighed. "It's harder than I thought! It's fun, though. Just, um…"

Yu chuckled. "Bring your skis a bit closer together," he suggested. "Good. Now, grip your poles a bit farther down. Right. Now…"


	2. Skier Level Seven

**Author's Note: **So, I don't ship KanjixNaoto. I never have. In fact, I ship this (and many of you know that already.) I'm sorry, guys. I know you were hoping for a KanjixNaoto fic, but hopefully this will at least pique your interest.

**Skier Level: Seven**

"Hey, Amagi-senpai," grunted Kanji, as he watched Yukiko and Chie sliding together into the lift line. "Uh, you got a second? Something I wanted to ask you about…"

He fidgeted uncomfortably with one of his poles, tracing nervous concentric circles in the snow. Yukiko raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? What is it? I'm skiing with Chie right now, but…"

"Oh, no, it's fine!" Suddenly, Chie was staring wide-eyed at Kanji, with a sort of dumbstruck realization dawning on her face. "You guys talk! I'll, uh, meet you at the top! Yeah! See you!" Then she took off, elbowing some poor bystander out of the way as she forced herself further ahead in the lift line.

"Wha-? That was weird," mumbled Kanji. For some reason, his cheeks were turning pink, and Yukiko found herself wondering if maybe he wasn't bundled up warmly enough, and was starting to catch a cold. "Wonder what's up with Chie-senpai."

Yukiko shrugged. "Who knows? Sometimes she just gets like that. I guess I'll meet her at the top after all. "

"Y-yeah." Kanji was staring hard at his boots. Yukiko waited, but he just kept staring silently at the ground.

"Was there…something you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked coaxingly, when it looked as though Kanji wasn't going to volunteer any more conversation.

Kanji opened his mouth, closed it, and then gave Yukiko a very pained sort of look. "Well, sorta."

He didn't have time to say anything more. The line had begun moving again, and they were swept back into the flow of it until they found themselves at the front. Yukiko turned to look over her shoulder, watching as the lift chair slowly moved towards her, preparing to scoop her up. She sat down as soon as it brushed the back of her legs, and Kanji quickly did the same. Then the chair lifted them both off of the ground, and they were hanging in mid-air and heading steadily towards the top of the ski slope.

"Listen," muttered Kanji, as Yukiko gazed down over the side of the chair at the snowy landscape below. "Do you, uh, remember that promise we made? When we were kids, I mean?"

Yukiko chewed on her lip and really did try to remember. "A promise? Well, no…I'm sorry, Kanji-kun, but that was such a long time ago. We used to play a lot of things when we were children together, so it's hard to remember just one. What kind of a promise was it?"

Kanji said something under his breath that sounded like "Valentine's Day." Out loud and a bit more audibly, he said "Nah, doesn't matter. Forget it. Uh…s'nothing."

_It doesn't look like 'nothing,'_ thought Yukiko, frowning at the bare, reddening place underneath Kanji's goggles and above his collar. As the chair kept rising, she mused to herself, thinking back along old, long-forgotten lines and remembering games of pretend that she and a very young Kanji had played in the textile shop when his mother and her mother had been busy operating within what had then been the boring world of "business."

"Valentine's Day," she murmured, thinking of pretty red and pink scarves patterned with hearts. Kanji had given her one for Valentine's Day one year, when she had been maybe ten or eleven years old. He'd growled something about his annoying old Ma making him do it, but he'd been happy when she'd worn it. The edges of the scarf had been cut poorly and had frayed quickly, leading to Yukiko's secret and guarded belief that Kanji had made the garment himself.

He'd said something to her that day too, hadn't he? She shook her head, trying to remember. He'd been so serious, and it had made her laugh, which had made him mad, but eventually…

"Kanji-kun," asked Yukiko. "Are you talking about the promise we made on Valentine's Day? The one we made after you beat up the boy that was picking on me?"

Kanji nodded gruffly. "Yeah. That's the one."

If Yukiko remembered correctly, there had been a boy who'd followed her around quite a bit when she was in elementary school. She'd been polite to him, but she hadn't really had much interest in playing with any boys who weren't Kanji. Most boys only talked about guns and the violent movies they'd snuck into their parents' bedrooms to watch, and Yukiko had been a good little girl. She hadn't been interested in that sort of thing, and neither had Kanji.

One day, the little boy had asked her to come over to his house for a play date, and Yukiko had gently declined. She'd said that her mother didn't like her to go over to little boys' houses, and, technically that had been true, although it hadn't been the real reason. The boy had gotten angry, and had started teasing her about being boring because she always did what her Mommy told her to do. He'd said that she was ugly and that he didn't want to play with her anyway.

For some reason, thinking about all of that made Yukiko smile. _And it was the same so many years later, with Mitsuo-kun, really…and with other boys. Maybe it's true that some boys never do grow up._

Back then, when she'd been little and that boy had called her "ugly," Yukiko had gone running to Kanji, sniffling and sniveling and trying not to cry. Kanji had gone right out to face the boy, who was at least a whole year older than he had been, and had punched him right in the mouth. There had been a lot of angry words between Kanji's mother and the other boy's parents, but eventually it had sorted itself out one way or another.

"Don't worry," Kanji had assured Yukiko, puffing out his little nine-year-old chest and drawing himself up to his full, unimpressive height. "Uh, you're not ugly. You're really pretty.

"But no one likes pretty girls," Yukiko had sobbed. "They just get mad at me…I make everyone mad! Why? Why is everyone always mad at me?"

_Even then, _thought Yukiko, _I knew how cruel jealous people could be. I knew that was just the way the world was, even if I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to hurt anyone, but this boy hated me just because I had but didn't give him something he wanted. Children can be so very selfish and cruel…and so can adults. People are like that, sometimes. _

"Uh, I'm not mad," Kanji had mumbled.

"You," Yukiko had told him petulantly, "are the only one. You're the only boy I like in the whole world. All the other boys are so strange and mean! They call me names and shout at me in the street. They say things that make me scared."

"Girls are meaner," Kanji had retorted "Always making fun of me and looking at me weird. They mutter about me my back and then they start that creepy giggling. Girls are scary. I hate girls. Uh…I mean, other girls. You're okay, I guess."

They'd sat there together in the textile shop for a moment, cross-legged and pouty, listening to the sounds of Kanji's mother talking animatedly with a customer at the storefront.

"Well," Yukiko had said eventually, "it doesn't matter. I like you, and you like me, and we'll always like each other, so…that's that, then."

"Huh?" Kanji had frowned. "What's what?"

"If I don't find any other boys I like, and you don't find any other girls you like," Yukiko had explained, "then we'll just be together. We can get married and ignore everyone who doesn't like us. Yes. That's…that's a good solution."

She'd shuffled uncomfortably, and Kanji had stared at her out of wide eyes as though she'd been the one who'd just socked him in the face, but it had been a promise in the sense that both of them had felt and acknowledged it in their childishly innocent moment of dissatisfaction. Yukiko remembered that moment now with a hint of a nostalgic sadness, as well as a smile.

_Everything was a lot simpler back then, _she thought. _Everything was black and white...even love. It was easy to make promises. _

"Well?" asked Kanji. Yukiko snapped out of her reverie to realize that he was now watching her closely. There was trepidation and uncertainty in his eyes, and Yukiko sighed.

"Kanji-kun, you have someone you like, don't you? What about-?"

"She ain't interested," snarled Kanji, shaking his head and dismissing whoever it was with a sharp gesture of his hand. He almost dropped his poles and had to clutch frantically at them again to prevent them from falling. "Come on, senpai. Lets' be real. It's been ten years. I'm…you know, 'an old friend.' You guys think I don't know that? Doesn't matter if I like her or not. She ain't interested in me. She ain't going for it, and that's just the way it is. Can't be helped." He dragged one pole miserably across one of his skis, making a satisfyingly grating sound.

"That's no reason to give up," insisted Yukiko quietly. "She just doesn't know you as well as I do."

"Yeah?" Kanji raised an eyebrow, and then let out an explosive exhalation. "Yeah? How long's she gotta know me for before she starts to like me, then? Like, is there really any point in waiting forever? I don't…I don't wanna die alone. Like…you know, I want to grow old with somebody. That really a lot to ask? Guess it is."

Carefully, Yukiko shifted her poles into her left hand, and reached her right out to pat Kanji gently on the shoulder. He glared down at her hand, but didn't try to shake her off, maybe because he was worried about losing his poles again.

"No, it isn't too much to ask," she murmured. "But you can't give up. You have to help her understand how much you care about her."

Kanji shrugged. "And if it doesn't work? The hell am I supposed to do if she just won't get it?"

_Then, _thought Yukiko, _we have our promise. I won't forget. _

She didn't say it out loud. She wasn't sure she needed to. Instead, she and Kanji sat in gently commiserating silence until the chair came to a stop at the lift station, and they both slid back on to their feet.

"Sorry," muttered Kanji, waiting for her to readjust the straps on her boots. "Uh…guess that was a dumb thing for me to bring up."

Yukiko still didn't say anything.

_No one wants to die alone, _she thought to herself, watching as Naoto waved to them from around the corner. _At least you've met someone you care about. For me…there hasn't been anyone else, really. At least, there hasn't been anyone who's ever meant as much to me as that little boy in the textile shop. _

Seeing Naoto, Kanji gave Yukiko a little smile, and she nodded, encouraging him to head off without her. He took a deep breath, and then skied off in Naoto's direction, leaving Yukiko alone by the lift.

_But that was a very long time ago, _she told herself, letting that bittersweet mix of memory and disappointment wash over her. _Every day, it's longer and longer ago. _


	3. Skier Level Five

**Author's Note: **I really like writing Nanako. She's such a cheery, positive person. Some days, I wish I could be more like that. Anyway, this chapter was just fun to write.

**Skier Level: Five**

Nanako was delighted, ecstatic, invigorated, and thrilled. She was also covered from head to toe in snow.

The mountains were absolutely beautiful in the winter. Ever since she'd been a little girl, Nanako had loved snow, as children generally do. Snow had been something to play in, and something that sometimes, if she was really very lucky, got her a day off from school to play at home. Her favorite days, and the luckiest days of all were the very few days when the snow in Inaba had gotten so bad that it had closed down several local businesses. On those days, Dad had been forced to stay home with her, and they'd played in the snow together.

Yes, snow had always been fun and exciting, but that wasn't and hadn't been the only reason that Nanako enjoyed it. Snow was magnificent, whether resting on the ground or falling from the sky. Snow was somehow magical, coldly beautiful and otherworldly. It was wet like rain but soft and tickly at the same time. It only came a few times every year, and something that is rare is by its very nature extremely special.

This trip was, therefore, extremely special, both because of the rarity, and because of the snow. The whole ski slope was a kind of winter wonderland dreamscape, looking like a picture out of a travel magazine or out of a fairytale book about snow princesses and queens.

Perhaps the best part, though, was that even at age seventeen, Nanako had found a way to play in it.

"Eek!" she shrieked in genuine delight as she and her beloved Big Bro tore down the hill together, clutching at their poles and squaring their shoulders, the white ground racing up to meet them.

Nanako was not entirely sure that she would be able to stop. Twice already, she had crashed into snow banks and floundered around on her side while Yu gazed down at her with conflicting expressions of both amusement and concern on his face. He had picked her up, brushed her off, and then had then burst out laughing at the way she'd been grinning up at him with snow melting rapidly off of her nose and forehead.

_Big Bro will catch me if I fall, _she knew. _Everything is going to be fine. I'm having fun!_

"Nanako!" called Yu, waving one hand emphatically in the direction of the ski lodge. "Let's take a break!"

Obediently, Nanako swung her skis around sideways the way Yu had told her, and eventually managed to drift to a halt. Yu slid in much more gracefully beside her and they both paused for a moment to take a deep breath.

"You look cold," Yu told her, frowning. "You should go in for a few minutes."

"I'm fine!" Nanako beamed at him. "I'm not cold at all. We can do it again! Oh, this time I want to go even faster! Is there a way to go faster? What if I point my skis straight down the hill, like...'zoom!'"

Yu shook his head. "If you do that, you'll probably just hurt yourself. You have to turn, you can't just go straight down."

Nanako was not convinced. _I want to see for myself, _she decided. _So what if I fall? It can't hurt that badly. I've fallen off bikes, before, and that only hurt a bit. Snow is soft, so…_

"Inside," repeated Yu, raising an eyebrow. "We can ski some more later."

It wasn't really worth arguing about and spoiling the mood. With a resigned little sigh, Nanako unbuckled her skis and set them up on the rack before following Big Bro into the lodge.

"Hey, partner! Over here!" They caught sight of Yosuke waving at them from a far table almost as soon as they stepped inside. He had several cups of steaming hot drinks in front of him, and Nanako thought about how nice a good cup of coffee would feel right now. She and Yu both started over to the table to meet Yosuke.

Before she made it over there, however, Nanako glimpsed someone else sitting in the corner at a large table by himself. It was Adachi, looking honestly ridiculous and definitely miserable in a bright yellow puffy ski coat, with a fuzzy sort of orange hat resting on the table next to him. He was glowering darkly at the tabletop, and everyone seemed to be keeping their distance from him. Most of the people at Yosuke's table were completely ignoring him, although several skiers at other tables kept darting concerned glances in his direction, as if wondering if they should be worried that he might be a bomb about to explode at any moment.

"Adachi-san!" called Nanako, waving and starting over in his direction. He looked up at her, opened his mouth, and started to give her one of his uncertain, lopsided smiles when apparently something behind her caught his eye. He looked startled, and then frowned again, and Nanako glanced over her own shoulder to see Dad, carrying his own tray of hot drinks, approaching them from the direction of the food line.

"There you are!" said Dad, looking pleased. "I was starting to worry about you…although I guess there wasn't much reason to. You were out skiing with your cousin all day, and he knows what he's doing. He's pretty good on those skis, actually. Gotta say, I'm kind of impressed."

Nanako grinned. "Hi, Dad!"

"How about you, Nanako? Are you getting the hang of it, yet?" he asked. "Doesn't exactly come naturally to me, but you're young."

"Yeah! It's a lot of fun!" Nanako nodded enthusiastically. "Um, Big Bro taught me how to turn, and how to ride the lift, and how to stop…sort of." Technically, she decided that was true. Yu had taught her how to stop, she just didn't always manage it. That was her fault, of course, not his.

"Heh." Nanako was pretty sure she heard Adachi snorting in amusement behind her, and she looked to see that he was rolling his eyes, apparently at their enthusiastic description of how talented Big Bro had turned out to be.

"Huh? Oh, hey. Didn't see you there." Dad nodded politely in Adachi's direction, and then moved past Nanako, making for a chair at Adachi's table. Adachi's face instantly fell.

_Shit, _thought Adachi, in a mental voice that only Nanako could hear. _Me and my big damn mouth…here we go. _

"You came here with Cho, right? Yeah, I'd almost forgot. Good to see you again, Adachi-san," said Dad.

"Uh…yeah. Nice to…yeah." Adachi's eyes were now darting around the room, as though he were looking for an escape route. Trying not to laugh, Nanako crossed to the other side of the table and sat down right next to Adachi, who turned and gave her a wide-eyed, panicked look that she pretended not to notice.

"Where's Cho-san?" asked Nanako.

Adachi shrugged. "Uh, I dunno. I think she went off skiing with somebody, maybe."

Dad shook his head and clicked his tongue gently. "That doesn't seem fair. She came here with you, didn't she? Shouldn't just leave you by yourself like this. It's not like her to be that inconsiderate. Have you ever been skiing before, Adachi-san?"

"N-no. Not really." he muttered, now watching Dad warily. "You know, uh, athletics has never really been my thing. Uh-!" He laughed nervously, and Nanako was sure she saw him wince, as though waiting for a blow. She wasn't sure why.

Unexpectedly, Dad started to laugh. It was one of his best loud, surprising, unguarded laughs. Nanako liked those the very best.

"Well, we'd better get you in some better shape, then!" announced Dad, reaching out and clapping Adachi hard on the shoulder. Adachi stared, and then shrank away. "After all, if you're going to be joining the force we'll expect you to be in good physical condition!"

"Sheesh," mumbled Adachi.

For a moment, no one said anything. Dad must have gotten some inkling of how uncomfortable the situation had become, because he suddenly nodded to himself, collected his tray, and stood up again.

"I won't bother you," he told Adachi, glancing over at Yu's table where Yu and his friends were sharing some kind of joke. "Don't be afraid to come and join us if you get bored. Oh, and bring Cho with you, when she gets back from…uh, well from wherever she is. We can all take a few runs together. Nanako'll show you how it's done. Isn't that right, Nanako?"

"Right!" chirped Nanako, smiling. Dad grinned back at her before walking away, leaving Nanako and Adachi alone at the table.

"Holy crap," muttered Adachi, burying his face in his hands. "Doesn't get much weirder than that."

Nanako gave him what she hoped was a reassuring sort of look. "He likes you," she informed Adachi.

"Yeah…" Adachi sighed. "That's…that's what's creeping me out so much. It's not like he's that different of a guy, or anything. He's still loud, bossy and annoying. Seriously, I have never heard anybody laugh like that besides him. How the hell do you sleep at night?"

Nanako bit her lip, and was just getting ready to tell Adachi that he'd better learn to be nicer to her father when she heard him sigh inside his head. She could feel his confusion, and the strange, unfamiliar and unwelcome sort of warmth that had made its way into his heart while his guard was down.

_Jeez…Dojima-san's kind of a nice guy when he's not shouting in my face. Figured that was something he saved for Nanako and Naukami, but…hell, he's not so bad. Loud, yeah, and annoying still, but…maybe I kinda wish I'd had a chance to hear him laugh like that back in the old days, when shit still sort of made sense. Not that it made a ton more sense back then than it does now, but…would have been nice, maybe. Might have made a difference. Then again, probably not…_

"So!' Nanako crossed her arms over her chest triumphantly, her ears turning warm with pleasure. "You do like him! You do like Dad! I knew it!"

"What the..? Are you out of your mind? The hell reason did he ever give me to like him? Guy's a loud-ass self-centered prick, and nobody knows it better than I do," mumbled Adachi with unnecessary vehemence. Nanako wasn't fooled.

"Nope," she persisted. "You like him. I can feel it. I can hear it in your mind. You do like him! You two just needed to find something to…well, to not fight about!"

Adachi rubbed at his temples wearily. "Get the fuck out of my head," he muttered.

Nanako laughed. "No, silly. How am I supposed to do that?"


	4. Skier Level Three

**Skier Level: Three**

"You need to stop panicking, Yanase-san. You must relax your posture, and allow yourself to move naturally, or you'll never achieve the necessary velocity to climb that hill." Naoto gestured at a small snowy bump that lay just beyond a section of flat ski slope. "Come, it won't be so hard, quite honestly. Shall we go together?"

Cho eyed the slope dubiously. Then she looked down at her skis, which were pointed together in a kind of warped pizza shape, holding her firmly in place and keeping her from sliding down the hill.

"Um," she mumbled miserably.

Naoto raised an eyebrow. "You work out frequently at the station gym. I've seen you there many times. You are definitely what one would consider 'athletically inclined.' What, then, is the problem?"

_Working out at the gym is one thing, _thought Cho. _Skiing is something totally different. The workout machines in the gym don't move or try to run away from you! The problem is that I'm terrified of falling down the hill and landing on my face! No, on my ass! Either one! It would be pretty embarrassing and painful either way…_

"I really can't afford to get injured right now," Cho muttered helplessly. "Um, there's this case that Dojima-san and I are working on. I don't have my own car, so, if I got hurt and couldn't walk anywhere, then…we'd be in trouble. Right?" She knew how lame it sounded even as she said it, but Naoto, at least, didn't look disappointed. If anything, Naoto seemed genuinely sympathetic.

"It's no use," Naoto sighed, shaking her head apologetically. "I…really don't ski very well myself, and I'm not much of a teacher. I was just as terrified as you are now when Kanji-kun tried to teach me how to ski for the first time. It was…frustrating, and did not come naturally to say the least. Even now, I sometimes have to shut my eyes on the way downhill."

_Then why do you make it sound like it's so easy, when you know that it isn't? _Cho wasn't sure if she should be relieved or annoyed that Naoto seemed to have gone through a similar experience. _If you really don't like doing it, then why try to force me? _

"Maybe," muttered Naoto, clearly defeated, "we should just take a break. I'm sorry."

With that, Naoto dropped her poles into the snow and sat down on the round, looking tired. Ashamed of being so useless and timid, but genuinely relieved at being let off so easy, Cho did the same. The two women sat side by side in silence for a moment, watching other skiers zoom and swoosh past across the flat and over the tiny hill.

"I'm sorry," murmured Cho. "This…really isn't going very well. You should go back and ski with your friends. I'm sure they were looking forward to spending time with you."

"No, it's fine." Naoto shook her head. "This is a worthwhile opportunity. We haven't had a chance to speak a great deal since you joined the police force."

_Nice try, _thought Cho. "Dojima-san asked you to keep an eye on me, didn't he? It seems like the kind of thing that he'd do. I really am sorry." She could imagine the head of the Inaba police department desperately demanding that one of his subordinates look out for his stupid young partner, if only to make sure that she didn't injure herself or anyone else during what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation day.

_But, after all, _she realized, _Dojima-san can't really order Shirogane around, can he? No, she's not really a 'subordinate.' She's a private detective…and she doesn't actually have anything to do with the police force or with his jurisdiction. Maybe he told Officer Narukami to do it, and Shirogane felt bad about it being Valentine's Day, and decided to shadow me herself. That's…well, that's more likely. _

Lost as she was in her own rueful thoughts, it took Cho a moment to realize that Naoto was gazing at her in some surprise.

"No, I…he didn't ask me. I mean it. I really did want a chance to, ah…to get to know you." The words sounded strange rolling off of Naoto's tongue, and she looked a bit uncomfortable saying them. "You, Chie, and I are the only women on the police force, after all, and…" She paused for a moment, biting her lip. "And I do know how difficult it can be to join a strange group of people in an unfamiliar place for the sake of solving a case. Even if you are technically one of us, now, I'm sure that the situation can be trying and disheartening for you. I…was hoping that I could make you feel more welcome, here. What is the phrase, exactly? 'Paying it forward?' Some of my closest friends did the same thing for me many years ago."

Naoto smiled hesitantly, and Cho smiled back. She was startled by this unexpected overture, and honestly grateful, even if Naoto did seem as though she wasn't quite sure where to begin with this whole welcoming, bond-forging thing.

"Thanks," said Cho, like she meant it. "I…no, that's really nice of you. It's thoughtful. I appreciate it."

Cho and Naoto clasped hands. Naoto looked really pleased.

_Okay, _thought Cho, seeing her own thoughts reflected in Naoto's eyes. _So…now, what? _

As it turned out, she didn't need to think of a next step after all. While Cho and Naoto watched each other, someone suddenly zipped past Cho's left side, blowing snow in her face.

"Wheee~!" shrieked Nanako gleefully, racing down the hill with her poles held out on either side of her body. "Hello, Cho-san!"

She was gone before Cho even had a chance to respond.

"Oh dear," murmured Naoto. "Senpai is unlikely to be happy about this."

"What? You mean, about her skiing by herself?" Cho frowned, uncertain why that would make Nanako's cousin Yu unhappy. After all, Nanako was already seventeen years old, and would be eighteen in October. She really was old enough, Cho thought, to take a few runs on the ski slope without supervision, especially in a relatively safe and affluent area like this.

"Huh…what's up with you? Slacking off? That's not like you." Adachi suddenly appeared on Cho's periphery. He skidded over and stopped right next to her, leering down at her with malicious merriment in his eyes. "Oh, or maybe you're having trouble getting the hang of skiing, right? Jeez, you can't fire a gun, you're shit at policing, you can't get a date, and you can't even get down the ski slope without landing on your ass. Actually, is there anything you are good at?"

"We're taking a break," Cho heard herself mutter, as her face heated up and that angry, shameful knot starting forming her chest again. "I just-!"

"Save it!" shouted Adachi, taking off after Nanako. "Hey, trust me, I know how it feels. I used to be the worthless rookie, remember? You know what they used to say about me…"

Cho didn't hear the rest of what he said. By the time Adachi finished his sentence, he was already out of earshot.

"Just ignore him," suggested Naoto quietly. "You're neither worthless nor a rookie, obviously. No one would assume-!"

Cho, however, wasn't really listening. She was too busy being frustrated, watching the specks that were probably Nanako and Adachi meeting at the bottom of the hill.

_Worthless? I'm not worthless. I'm not 'slacking off' either There's no comparison between the two of us, Tohru Adachi. They'll never say the things about me that they said about you. _

"Yanase?" asked Naoto, frowning. "Are you all right?"

Cho was in the process of struggling to her feet. Naoto hurried to join her, and Cho, taking one last quick, deep breath, finally allowed her skis to drift apart into a more parallel position.

"Wait!" called Naoto. "Yanase-! Oh."

Cho, screaming with terror inside her head, took off down the hill, clenching her teeth hard and squinting against the glare of the snow, hoping that she was gaining on Nanako and Adachi, and waiting for them to appear on the horizon.

"Yanase!" shouted Naoto, still a little ways behind her.

_Oh my god, _thought Cho desperately. _What am I going to do when I get down? _


	5. Skier Level One

**Author's Note: **So, I promised this would be the last drabble collection…but it turns out that I lied. Again. Well, more accurately, I have changed my mind.

See, I just started replaying P3P, and I had forgotten how much I love this game. It's…I mean, I really love this game. Anyway, since many of the P3P characters will be appearing in **The Wildest Dreams, **I thought I'd do a short collection of one-shots featuring those characters ten years after the events of Persona 4. **Meia42** recently remarked to me that it's difficult being dropped straight into a "ten years later" scenario, and so I thought that giving you guys some insight into the new, more recent lives of the P3P characters might help set the stage.

I'm going to do that. But first…here's this.

**Skier Level: One**

Yosuke and Teddie sat together on the ski lift, riding up to the top in silence as the sun began to set. Yosuke could already see that most of the skiers on the mountain had gone in for the day, and that only him, his friends, and a few intrepid locals were still braving the slopes.

Teddie sighed heavily. "I hate Valentine's Day," he admitted mournfully. "It's so sad…"

Yosuke rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. You love Valentine's Day. Somehow every year, no matter how much of an ass you make of yourself you always manage to get tons of chocolate from girls. You get chocolate from the part-timers at Junes, and from the local housewives. Even my mom gives you chocolate. Last year she gave you all of it and totally forgot about me! Then you stuff your face all night and call in sick on the morning. This happens every single year. What's not to like?"

He had expected Teddie to take offense to at least some of what he'd just said, but instead, Teddie just sighed again, even more dramatically and heart-brokenly than before.

"Yeah," Teddie agreed miserably, "I guess so. Chocolate's yummy, and all, but…it's just not the same. All the other guys get to spend Valentine's Day with a girl. Senpai looks so happy when he's with Chie-chan, doesn't he? I'm tired of being lonely. I'm ready to assert my manhood! I'm ready to-!"

"That's…that's not a thing any of us want to hear you say," muttered Yosuke, shaking his head emphatically. "'Assert your manhood?' What does that even…? You know what, forget it. Never mind. I don't want to know."

"We need to meet some new girls," suggested Teddie, apparently totally ignoring Yosuke's comments. "Nao-chan and Yuki-chan and Chie-chan and Rise-chan are great, but…I think we're out of luck." He frowned. "I've waited a long time for one of them to accept the purity of my beary true love, but…a real man has to know when it's time to move on!"

Teddie sparkled stoically at no one in particular. Yosuke raised an eyebrow.

"Dude," he muttered. "Did you get that crap from Kanj?" He frowned. "I guess you're right, though, kinda. I mean, Chie's spoken for…uh, not that I was ever interested in her. Ew. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that Yukiko's got a thing for Kanji...which let me tell you, I never saw coming. Naoto's…uh, who knows? Does she even like guys? Anyway, Rise's out of our league."

"And Nana-chan's too busy to spend any time with poor little moi," agreed Teddie sadly. "She's busy being with Adachi-baby…"

Yosuke's mouth fell open, as images appeared in his brain that he had never, ever wanted to contemplate. He clenched his jaw, sat bolt upright in his seat, and almost dropped his poles in shock. "What the HELL are you babbling about?" he shouted. Down on the slope, at least two skiers suddenly stopped and stared up at the lift in surprise.

Teddie blinked, and edged a little farther away from Yosuke on the seat. "H-huh? What's wrong, Yosuke? I was just saying that Nanako-chan's too busy keeping Adachi-baby in line and taking care of him to go out with me! She has to spend all of her time making sure he doesn't get into any trouble, remember? Wh-why are you so mad?"

_Right, _thought Yosuke, letting himself relax a a bit as the ugly images faded. _Yeah, of course that's all he meant. You know, because Nanako-chan's, like, Adachi's babysitter these days, or something. Nothing…nothing weirder than that. Oh, man, I am never gonna be able to unsee that. I'm gonna have nightmares, like, forever._

"Never," he growled at Teddie, "say something like that to me ever again. Never, ever again. Do you understand?"

The blank look on Teddie's face made it clear that he did not at all understand. Yosuke exhaled resignedly and did his best to let it go.

"Anyway," he mumbled, changing the subject, "you're right about one thing. We need to meet some new girls. I'm pretty sick of striking out."

"Me too," sighed Teddie.

_Yeah, _thought Yosuke. _I don't think it actually matters how many girls you meet. You're never gonna get the hang of this. You're just too damn creepy…but uh, I guess everybody is somebody's type? Maybe? Who the hell would think of Teddie as her type, though? _

They finished the rest of the ride up in silence. Yosuke was sure that Teddie was thinking about girls. Teddie was, in fact, usually thinking about girls. Not, of course, that Yosuke could really blame or accuse him. After all, Teddie did have a point. It had been a really long time since Yosuke had celebrated Valentine's Day with anything but "friend" chocolate consolation prizes.

"Who knows?" asked Teddie, when they finally slid off the lift. "It's already February! That means it's a new year. Maybe this year will be the year of the babes!"

"Yeah, uh…somehow, I doubt that," muttered Yosuke.

In the back of his mind, though, he hoped like hell.


End file.
